A review by lordofthemoon
Unnatural History by Jonathan Green
2.0
In a few months Britain and her colonies will celebrate the 160th anniversary of the rule of Queen Victoria, but there are those plotting to bring down London and the Empire with it. It's up to Ulysses Quicksilver, gentleman adventurer and Agent of the Throne, to trace the plot from its source at the break-in at the Natural History Museum to its horrifying conclusion.
This is a steampunk type book set in a 1990s where the British Empire never ended and Queen Victoria is still on the throne and first in the Pax Britannia series by an author more well-known for his adventure game books. The idea in this book was sound but the execution felt clumsy. The writing style felt like a new author still finding his feet, even though Green is by no means a novice. Quicksilver is likeable enough, but he seems to be walking through a land full of cliché, from the unflappable butler to the moustache-twirling villain and femme fatale. An all-round 'meh' then: could do better.
This is a steampunk type book set in a 1990s where the British Empire never ended and Queen Victoria is still on the throne and first in the Pax Britannia series by an author more well-known for his adventure game books. The idea in this book was sound but the execution felt clumsy. The writing style felt like a new author still finding his feet, even though Green is by no means a novice. Quicksilver is likeable enough, but he seems to be walking through a land full of cliché, from the unflappable butler to the moustache-twirling villain and femme fatale. An all-round 'meh' then: could do better.